Beneath Your Beautiful
by arubagirl0926
Summary: Sequel to La Bella Vita. See Brooke and Lucas four years from there, entering marriage and whatever else life throws at them. You don't have to read the first one to understand this.
1. A Life That's Good

_**Hey guys, so this is the sequel to my previous story La Bella Vita. To my previous readers, I hope this lives up to your expectations. To my new readers, hopefully, you don't need to read that story to understand this one but if you have any questions please feel free to ask; as well as if you would like see a certain plot line, I am more than willing to try and work it in. I hope everyone likes this and enjoys reading to see what happened to Lucas and Brooke four years from where La Bella Vita left off at. **_

* * *

_Sittin' here tonight,  
By the fire light,  
it reminds me I already have more than I should._

_I don't need fame, no one to know my name,  
at the end of the day,  
Lord I pray, I have a life that's good._

"Merry Christmas, fiancé." I said, leaning up on my elbows and kissing Lucas

"You know it's not Christmas yet babe, it still Christmas Eve."

"Yea, I know. But that was one of the best presents I've ever gotten." I said, smiling at the idea that we just had hot passionate sex on the floor of the living room.

"Well, there is plenty more of that came from."

"Oh yea, well why don't you show me." I said, egging him on. And Lucas fell for it, he rolled over and was now on top of me and kissing me ever so gently. That was until the house phone started ringing.

"Luke…not that…I don't love this…but the phone is ringing." I said in between kissing.

"Yea, I know."

"So, you don't plan on stopping so one of us could answer it?"

"Nope."

"Fine..." I started to say, until my cell phone started ringing. "Babe, who ever it is, it must be important because they keep trying to get in touch with us."

"Alright, go ahead and answer it." Lucas said, causing me to get up and get my phone, with a sheet wrapped around me.

"Hey Hales…" I started to say, while Lucas was kissing my shoulder and making his way up my neck, but stopped when he noticed I tensed up. "…slow down…take a deep breath, I'll be down there as soon as I can. Just be strong until I get there and call if you hear anything."

"What's going on?" Lucas asked, now too getting nervous.

"Nathan was in a bad car accident, Haley is a mess. I need to go down and be there for her." I said in a quick tone, running my fingers through my hair.

"Where the girls with him?"

"No, thank God."

"Cheery, you know I love you and love Haley and Nathan too, but you can't go down there right now. There's a storm going on and it's only going to get worse."

"I know Luke, but what am I supposed to do? She'd do the same exact thing for me. I need to go, how about you come with me? I feel more comfortable with you driving with this weather and it will give me some company during the drive." I was trying to keep my emotions in check, but I felt so helpless.

"I'm ok with that, you go pack us an over night back and I'll get the car ready."

"Ok, and hey Luke?"

"Yea?"

"I love you for doing this, and I love you so much for being there for me."

"I love you too, and I don't mind because you are right, they would do the same for us." Lucas said, kissing me before going our separate ways. The drive down to Nathan and Haley's took about 5 hours and shockingly I fell asleep in the car on the ride down. Low and behold we were there, making own way through Raleigh Memorial trying to find Haley.

"Aunt Brooke!" Four year old Bella screamed and ran towards her 'aunt', causing her mother to snap her head towards the new visitors

"Hey you…I missed you." I said, once I situated Bella in her arms, not having seen the girl in person for a couple of months. This in turn caused Bella to curl up real close to me, almost as if she was falling asleep; I planted a loving kiss on her head.

"I've miss you too." Bella said, yawning. Once they made their way back to Haley, I gave Bella over to Luke so I could comfort my best friend. I embraced Haley asking the number one question on her mind.

"Hales…what happened?"

"Nathan was going out to get some milk or something, I don't remember…he was gone for a while…and then I got a phone call saying he was in a bad accident and they said he was in critical condition. I…I…I didn't know what to do. The kids where already sleeping and…" Haley stammered, crying again that night.

"Shhhhussshhh." I said, trying to somewhat relax her. "You listen to me...Nathan is going to be just fine."

"How do you know that?" Haley said, snapping at me.

"Because that boy loves you and those kids… and he'll fight like hell to make sure that he is by your side. Now, I will wait here with you while Lucas takes the kids back to your house. It's not right for them to spend the whole night in the hospital, and not to mention it's the early hours of Christmas morning too."

"No, you have to go get some sleep too. It's late and you just drove five hours in this storm."

"Hales, stop being so stubborn; I'm fine. And besides I need to be here for you. I don't want to leave you alone."

"I know you don't and I thank you for that, but it will make me feel somewhat better if I know that at least one of us will be sleeping in a bed tonight and be with the girls."

"Are you sure?" I asked, knowing that once Haley made up her mind, nothing going to change it.

"Positive"

"Fine, but you call me the minute you hear something, you hear me? No if, ands, or buts."

"Yes Mommy." Haley said, giving me and Luke a hug and ushering us off. Lucas grabbed a four month old Skylar's carrier, she was content and sleeping since I and Lucas got there. While I grabbed Bella who was now sleeping. As we walked out of the hospital, Lucas put his hands on the small of my back and whispered in my ear.

"Even though this isn't the right time or situation, but you look so sexy with Bella in your arms; I can't wait to have kids of our own." He was right, this was most definitely not the time for that, but I couldn't help but feel the same way too.


	2. I Got You

_Baby, I got you__  
__When the right go wrong__  
__When I'm scared to death and got nothing left to lean on___

A couple of hours later, the kids were fast asleep while I was wide awake in the guest bedroom. I hadn't heard anything from Haley since we got home and that worried me more. Within an instant I sat up straight up in bed, with more thoughts rushing to my head then I can handle.

"Luke, you awake?"

"mmm" he obviously mumbled, still sleeping somewhat.

"What are we gonna do about the presents?"

"What presents Pretty Girl?"

"The ones 'Santa' bought for the girls…I don't know where they hid them and if its even right for them to open them without Nathan and Haley here to see it. And what about your Mom and Lily? We were supposed to go over there for dinner today."

"Slow down…why don't you just call Haley to see what she wants to do with the presents and how Nathan is. And I'll just call mom in a couple of hours, when I know she is awake, and I'll explain to her what happened and I guess we'll just have to postpone Christmas dinner then."

"But Luke that isn't fair to her or Lily, she's gonna want to see her older brother on Christmas."

"I know, but I know that my mom will understand. And besides Lily's going to be so preoccupied with all the presents she got, she'll be ok. Now call Haley and stop worrying with that pretty little head of yours." Lucas said, pulling me close to him.

"Alright..." she slowly grabbed her phone, afraid of hearing more bad news. "Hales, what's going on? How is he?"

"They said a few broken ribs, a punctured lung, which he had to have surgery to fix, and many broken bones causing him to be in almost a full body cast."

"But he's ok for now?"

"Mhm, the doctor said he'll be here for about two weeks."

"That's good to hear I guess." I sighed, feeling relived that it was indeed good news. "I know that this is probably the farthest thing from your mind right now, but what do you want us to do when the girls wake up and expect to see presents under the tree? Like I can put them there and have them open it, but then it kills me that you guys aren't here to see this…and I…"

"B, stop rambling…I didn't even think of that….uhhh, the presents are in the bottom of my closet under some old sweatshirts and ummm, why not just keep them in the bag and bring them here to open them? Visiting hours start at like 10 I think, so it will give you guys some time to sleep, because I know that you haven't, and then it solves all problems."

"That's a genius idea, why didn't I think of that?!" I chuckled at ours inside joke and so did Haley.

"I don't know B…go to sleep, the girls will be up soon wanting to open presents."

"Ok, you go too."

Not long after that I fell right asleep. And actually slept for a solid 5 hours, which when I got up and realized that, took me by surprise. The girls didn't wake me up and I didn't even notice Lucas getting out of bed and that he wasn't there. I walked down stairs and into the kitchen, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes. But the sight in front of me caused me to stop in my tracks. Lucas and Bella were making chocolate chip pancakes, while Skylar was content playing with some toys in her high chair.

"Morning Aunt Brooke. Look, Uncle Lucas and I were making breakfast like Mommy and Daddy normally do on special mornings." Which broke my heart. Bella and Skylar may not be actually blood related, but those kids may have been my real nieces. I've been around for most of their firsts and everything like that, and it hurts me so much to see them in any sort of pain.

"Aw Bells, come here. Even though Mommy and Daddy aren't here this morning, they love you very much and wish they could be here. But hey, I talked to Mommy before and she said that we can come by later on and see them. How does that sound?"

"Amazing, hey Aunt Brooke did Santa come?"

"I don't know Bells, have you been a good girl this year?"

"Yes, a very good girl."

"I think he did stop by then, right Luke? We heard him last night?"

"Yes we did, and in fact when I got up this morning there was an actual note here saying that the presents were in the car and that we were to open them up with Mommy and Daddy."

"Oh, okay then." Bella said, before scurrying away into the living room to watch television.

"Don't get too comfortable in there, breakfast is almost ready." Lucas screamed to her.

"Ok, I won't."

"Morning Broody."

"Morning Cheery, Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas yourself." The two love birds started kissing each other but unfortunately for them had to stop because Skylar starting making noises, which turned out to be some sort of laughing.

"I think they would have killed us if that kept going with her in the room."

"Oh yes they would have." I said laughing, while setting the table for breakfast.

"They're cute, aren't they?"

"Obviously, and you know what…I'm starting to get the feeling that they are ours and this is like some sort of glimpse of us into the future."

"You know I love them and the idea of having kids with you and mornings like this, and I love you so much, but don't get ahead of yourself Pretty Girl, we still have a little under two months until the wedding."

"You eat and I'll feed her?" I asked, motioning to Skylar as they were all at the table just getting ready to eat.

"Ok…wow, these are really good. Maybe Bella should come up and cook for us. What do you think babe?"

"I think that is a fantastic idea. She can maybe even do the cleaning too."

"No, I don't like cleaning. And I only good at making these and that's it."

"Alright I guess, but next time you come up and stay by us, you make us some, how's that sound?" I asked, not believing that I'm making cooking compromises with a four year old.

"Purrfffecccttt."

"Finish eating you goof." Once I noticed that Bella was almost done, she scurried her off to get dressed and I will be up there soon to check on her outfit. "The quicker you get dressed, the quicker we go see Mommy and Daddy." I said, just about finishing feeding the both me and the baby.

"Hey, I'm gonna go call Mom and then get ready, you gonna be ok in here with her while cleaning up the dishes?"

"Mhm, I'll be fine." Lucas gave me a quick kiss before leaving the room. As I was doing the dishes, while obviously keeping an eye on the baby, I grew more and more worried about Haley. All of those feelings that rushed through Haley's body in the past twelve hours have to come out some how and I'm just silently praying it doesn't come out in front the girls.

"…I know Ma, but there's nothing I can do about it." I only started listening half way through the sentence but it still worried me about the contents of the rest of the sentence and the whole conversation. _Perfect timing_, I thought, noticing that the breakfast dishes were all cleaned and put away; I wanted to go into the living room and listen on the conversation my fiancé was having. "Just wish everyone a Merry Christmas and tell them that I'll see them soon." I saw how frustrated Lucas was getting, so I snaked my arms around his neck and just held him tight.

"You ok?" I asked, knowing that it may damper my somewhat good mood.

"Ya, I guess."

"I'm so sorry Luke, this is all my fault. You're missing out celebrating Christmas with your family. I took you away from them to rush down here to be with my family. Why don't you just head home now, I don't know how long I'll be here for, maybe the whole week or just a couple of days, and besides if you do you can make it just in time for dessert."

"Babe, it is what it is. I'm here with you and you're my most important family right now. The situation obviously sucks, but there's nothing that I could have done to prevent it or change it. I don't truly care that much that I'm not with Mom and all them, as long as I'm right beside you I'm happy….really."

"Luke, I love you so much." She said bending down and giving him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

"I love you too…and this wasn't how I wanted to do you this. I wanted to have this under the tree and have you open it this morning, but life got in the way. Anyway, I got you a little something." Lucas said pulling out a tiny jewelry case out of his pocket

"We agreed on no Christmas presents this year…"

"It's not a Christmas present; more of a present to show you how proud I am of you for finishing school early and getting ready to open up the boutique, all while planning a wedding. You are truly a super woman. A super woman who opened up her heart to me, so I wanted to show you mine." Happy tears started trickling down my face. I slowly opened the case to reveal a white gold _Open Heart Necklace_ with the words 'You're mine forever' engraved on the back.

"Luke, it's so beautiful."

"Only the best for my girl." No words could explain how happy I was at this moment, and how in love I was with my fiancée; so I did the one thing I knew that would do the trick, I kissed him and we just snuggled up on the couch temporally forgetting the rest of the world.


	3. Both of Us

3

_I, wish I, was strong enough,__  
__To lift, not one, but both of us,__  
__Someday I will be strong enough,__  
__To lift, not one, but both of us__  
_

Going to the hospital that early in the morning with two kids that aren't even your own, is kind of weird. Throw in going in on Christmas morning just makes it even stranger. Walking up to Nathan's room, I felt kind of eerie. I was never a big fan of hospitals and the idea of not knowing what Nathan would like frightened me. The little "family" got to the room, and Bella ran straight up to her mother, similar to the way she did to me the night before.

"Mommy!"

"There's my pumpkin! How are you? Were you a good girl for Aunt Brooke and Uncle Lucas?" Haley asked, giving so many kisses to the two of them.

"Mhm, I missed you so much. But I kinda liked having them there and taking care of me."

"Well maybe I'll just have to ship the two of you up there for long weekends then."

"We would love them, we actually made a secret deal with Bella. Right Bells?" I winked at the toddler.

"Oh, ok then." Haley said, obviously confused.

"But seriously Hales, they were fine. Nothing to worry about on this end."

"Ya, Haley…if anything, you to need to worry about Brooke corrupting them too much." Lucas said, and immediately received a loving slap and look from me.

"Mommy, is Daddy sleeping?" Bella asked, tugging on her mother's sweatshirt.

"Uhh, ya. He uhh should be up soon." Haley answered after some time, not wanting to fully explain to her daughter what was happening.

"Hey, Bells why don't you take Uncle Lucas down stairs to the cafeteria and get him some Christmas cookies for being such a good boy this year." I said, noticing that this would be the perfect time to talk to Haley about everything; so I got some money out and handed it to Bella. "Spill Hales, I know you want to." I said as soon as they left and little did I know that just by saying that, the flood gates opened.

"Hhhheeee….IIII….alll…." Haley barely got out between sobs.

"Shush…breathe….let it all out and then we'll talk." I rubbed soothing circles on the girl's back, trying to calm her down.

"I almost lost him B."  
"I know, but hey he's fine and he's going to be fine…this is just a speed bump right now."

"It's my fault…if I didn't tell him to go get milk, we wouldn't be here."  
"Hales, look at me…this isn't your fault, don't ever think that."

"It's hard not too…"

"I know, but you just have to think positively ok? Everything that was broken was fixed. I know the casts and bruises are scary looking but they will go away."

"Okay.."

"Now go freshen up before Bella gets back cause you don't want her to see you like that."

"I agree with I on that one…" a weak voice said, but the comment completely bypassed Haley's ears, not mine.

"Morning sleepyhead."

"Well good morning to you too…Where's the other one?" Nathan asked, noticing Skylar's carrier on the chair and that's it.

"I made Luke take her to get food so I can properly talk to your wife without scaring her."

"Oh, thank you for this, for being here so quick and on a holiday too. I know that Haley said awhile back that you guys had plans with his family and what not." Nathan said through gritted teeth, you could tell he was in a lot of pain.

"Ya, going by Luke's mom's and spending the day there…"

"Thank you then from the bottom of my heart, I know this is unbelievable timing and luck, but I'm glad to know that you're here and stepped up for the girls sake, including Haley's. It means a lot to me."

"Nate, you know I'd do anything for any one of you in a heartbeat…" I grabbed his hand reassuringly.

"I know, and I've heard and see you do that for Haley, I guess it's just hitting me now that that applied to my entire family."

"Always has and always will, I've considered you guys family for awhile now."

"Same here B, same here." Haley said, walking out of the bathroom and going over to where I was standing and engulfed me in a massive hug. "Thanks B, love you."  
"Anytime guys, anytime."

* * *

"Bella's chomping on the bit to open presents, you guys ready?" Haley asked the small group crowed into the even tinier hospital room. Bella was sitting on Nathan's bed, Haley was in one chair organizing the presents, while Lucas was in the other holding Skylar and I was standing behind him. It took some time to get through all of the presents from Santa and Nathan and Haley, and the girls loved every minute of it. Mine and Lucas's presents where still at our apartment; we completely disregarded the notion of grabbing them and bringing them down when the phone call came late last night. Coincidentally, it didn't phase the girls though.

"Babe, take her? I have to go take this now." Lucas asked me, which I obviously agreed thinking that the call was from Lily or his mother and only answering out of respect since the engaged couple had to miss dinner, otherwise he would have let it go.

"Sure Broods, tell them I said hi."

"Uhh, what? Sure.." Lucas was slowly becoming more and more confused with every second going by. It wasn't his mom calling him, but instead his captain. "Hey Capt, Merry Christmas." He pressed the answer button as soon as he closed the door.

"Merry Christmas to you too son, hopefully it's a good one."

"You can say that sir."

"Lucas, I know that with the deal you made with the army that you requested not to be transferred over seas, after you're fours years actively enrolled service, and that you rather be stationed where you are now and work things out like that, but…" and as soon as that but came out, Lucas's heart sank. "with everything going on, you have been personally requested by the General of the Army himself to train about five different groups of soldiers for specific missions."

"I'm sorry Capt, it's been a long sleepless night, let me get this straight…I've been requested to leave and go train these guys for special missions?"

"Correct, you will be transferred to Germany and a few other non violent areas for about two months and do extensive round the clock training to get them ready as fast as possible."

"And when will I be leaving?" He asked, already dreading telling his fiancé because that's only going to break her heart.

"They were hoping January 1st…"

"Capt, with all respect sir I can't do that to I right now, the wedding is six weeks away…"

"I understand that, and on a side note I just sent my RSVP the other day-"

"Great to hear.."

"-which is why I told them that if they want you specifically for the job it will have to wait till March the earliest for you to be able to do it."

"Thank you so much sir, this means a great deal to me and to Brooke as well."

"I'm glad to do it, I know that you're a good man who will get the job done."

"So you will give me the details soon then?" Little did Lucas know, I sneakily stepped out of the room, after passing the baby over to Haley, at that moment because I was starting to get worried about what was taking so long.

"Of course son, I will call you after the holidays to set up a date for you to come in and receive specifics about the operation."

"Sounds good Capt, have a happy holiday and I'll see you soon." As soon as he hung up the phone, he realized that I was standing there and probably heard the whole thing; this was not the way he wanted to tell me.

"The Captain called you to wish you a Merry Christmas?"

"Eh, kinda…" Lucas's face immediately dropped and it finally hit me.

"NO! Luke, I know that face of yours…please tell me it isn't what I think it is." I said, now crying.

"It sort of is, but please let me explain. It's going to be completely out of the line of fire, you have my word on that. You know that I can't give you specifics, but believe me…I'll be fine."

"Ok, I guess that's a little better then…but when? Do we have to push back the wedding?" The tears where still coming, but not as much as before.

"No, Captain pulled a few strings I guess and got them to wait until like a month after. Shushh, don't cry…I'll be fine...we'll both be fine and you know what, it's only two months… I'll be home as soon as you know it, ok? I love you so much I, and like I said this morning…I want to start a family with you, and nothing, I mean nothing is going to stop us from having that fairy tell type of ending that you and I have dreamed of." I just nodded and gave him a kiss. "Now, come on…let's go back inside."

Immediately coming back inside, Haley noticed the way her best friend looked and became instantly worried that Lucas did something wrong and hurt her. I guess I still had a few stray tears coming down my cheeks. She gave me the look…the look silently asking me what was wrong. I in turn returned with the look of we'll talk about it later. Before we knew it, the doctor came in to do his daily check up on Nathan. Luke and I took that as a perfect opportunity to leave and take the girls home; it was getting late and Lucas and I needed to talk in private more about what was going on.


	4. DNA

_"And that's what makes a man  
Not hard to understand  
Perfect in every way  
I see it in his face  
Nothing more to say  
It's in his D-D-D-DNA  
It's the blue in his eyes that helps me see the future"_

I glanced back and noticed that both girls were asleep; perfect time for Lucas and I to talk. He glanced over at me, I think he realized the same thing.

"I'm not trying to force you to do anything, but when do you want to leave?" Luke grabbed my hand and said it in the sweetest tone possible, I could tell he was trying not to cause a fight.

"I'm not too sure. I was thinking a few days after Nathan gets home so they can all get settled in. When do you want to leave?"

"Honestly? Tomorrow, and its not because I don't want to be here anymore, but because of The Captain's call. I have to obviously take off for that and Mr. Strauss won't like it if I'm out more with being down here. You get that right?"

"As much as I don't like being away from you, I do. I know that I don't want to leave tomorrow though. So you'll fly home so I can have the car?" My heart was torn; I wanted him to be with me, but I knew that he couldn't.

"Ok. I'll book the ticket tonight when we get back." He kissed my hand. I glimpsed over at him and I could see regret in his eyes. His hands were tied, there's nothing he could do…he had to work.

"So, are you hungry? I know that the girls must be starving and need to eat."

"Not really. We can make them something simple and if you and I get hungry later, I'll run out and pick up something?"  
"Sure babe."

* * *

"She go down ok?" I asked Lucas as he was walking out of Skylar's room as I was walking into Bella's to put her to bed.

"Yup. You want some food? Should I go grab something?"

"Kinda. You are?"

"Ya."

"You can grab something if you want. Unless you want me to make you something. Doesn't matter to me."

"Don't worry about it. You still have to put Bells to bed. I'll just drive around to see what's open."

"Ok."

He gave me a quick kiss before he ran out the door; I guess he was really hungry. Bella didn't go down as easy as I thought she would. first she didn't want to stop playing with her new toys. Then it turned into she missed her parents. Thirty minutes later, she was finally asleep. Just as I was walking downstairs, I heard my phone start to ring.

_Because when the sun shines, we'll shine together__  
__Told you I'll be here forever_

_Said I'll always be your friend_

Before I answered, I noticed a text from Lucas saying he was grabbing a pizza and should be back soon. I simply texted him a quick _k_.

"Hey Hales."

"Hi Tiger. You're on speaker…Nate's here too."

"Hi Brooke."

"Hey Nathan, still groggy from the meds and in pain?"

"Groggy no, pain is some what better."

'That's good."

"How'd the girls do tonight? I should be leaving here soon and coming home."

"Good. Bella didn't want Luke to give her a bath. We had a nice laugh with that one."

"Why didn't she?"

"Boys aren't allowed to see her in the bath. So he handled the baby while I gave her the bath. Taught her young there Nate…"

"Yes, I did…that's my girl."

"Otherwise they were angels." I wasn't going to tell them about Bella's bedtime struggle. It was so minimal compared to everything else going on, they didn't need to worry about it.

"Good, glad to hear. Is Luke in the room with you?"

"No. He went to go pick up dinner for us."

"Oh."

"Why? What's up? That's good news you're coming home tonight Hales."

'Ya, I want to shower, sleep in a bed. You know the drill. We wanted to talk to both of you together. "

"Do you want to just tell me and I'll talk to him about it when he gets home? He shouldn't be too much longer."

"No." They were making me nervous. What made it worse is that Haley wasn't budging every time I asked her. Maybe something was seriously wrong with Nathan, more than the accident.

"Hales, it's ok. Just tell her…" Ahh, Nate…the voice of reason.

"The doctors came in again, in addition to when you left, and because of the extent of Nathan's injuries…they want him to be on 24 hour watch when he gets discharged from here. And we don't really feel comfortable with a stranger staying in the house with the kids. So that leaves just me and we were thinking..."

"Ok, so what does that mean? You need me to stay longer? Cause Luke's leaving tomorrow."

"Why is he leaving?"

"Doesn't matter at the moment. What's the idea? I can stay for awhile and work remotely if you want."

"Actually we were hoping that you guys can take the girls and watch them for a couple of weeks…at least until Nathan gets some of his casts off. You guys have done so much for us these past couple of days and we wouldn't want to put you out more by staying down here for so long, but we don't know what else to do."

My first instinct was yes of course, but then reality set in. I had to of course ask Luke first. And I just finished school, plus trying to open Clothes Over Bros. On top of that trying to plan and organize a wedding with Lucas and I apart. I don't know. They must be really desperate if their both asking. and it was even evident in Haley's voice.

"I don't think it'll be a problem. Like I said, I'll just stay down here and work on everything remotely. I'll have to talk to Lucas about it first."

"Talk to him about it, cause we were thinking that maybe you guys take them home with you."

"Wow, uhhh…"

"I know its a lot to think and about ask of you. But it's the best thing for the girls right now. If I'm watching and taking care of Nathan 24/7, I won't be able to properly take care of them." Haley was full on crying now, and I didn't have the heart to say no.

"Ssshhhh…Luke should be home ay minute. Him and I will talk about it over dinner and when you come home tonight, we'll let you know."

"Ok, that's fine."

"I'll talk to you later."

"What are you gonna talk to me about?" I jumped out of my seat. I didn't hear him come in at all.

"You scared me…not cool at all."

"You still love me." Lucas said with a devilish grin.

"That I do fiancé."

"So what are we talking about?" Lucas asked once I sat back down with plates, napkins, and something to drink for the both of us.

"Bella and Skylar. That was Haley and Nate on the phone. Because of the extent and hard recovery from the accident, they wanted to know if we would take the girls back home with us for a little bit. What do you think about that? And be honest…I can tell when you're lying." I winked at him from across the table.

"You can, can you? Honestly, it's up to you. You have the store opening plus planning a wedding. And now you want to throw watching the girls on top of that? You know I'll support you and whatever decision you make, no matter what; I just worry that you could be taking on too much. I'll be there to help, but the way our schedules are, you'll be with them and watching them the most."

"I know."

"You think you can handle it?"

"Yes and no. Like I think you and I will find a way to balance it all, but what if we don't. Plus I kinda feel like we have too. I don't know…"

"I know and she's your best friend."

"Exactly. I vote yes."

"Ok, then I vote yes too."

"Thank you Luke…you are a great man for being so selfless and helping my friends out. I don't know how I got so lucky to find you and a man who loves me as much as you do." Tears started forming in my eyes. I tried to blink them away as quickly as I could so Lucas didn't see them.

"Save some for the vows there Cheery. You're friends are my friends too babe." My tears couldn't escape him. He reached over the table and dried the remaining ones with his thumb. "And believe me, I thank my lucky stars everyday for spilling coffee on you." Our fingers were intertwined for the rest of dinner.


	5. Gone, Gone, Gone

_"When you fall like a statue__  
__I'm gon' be there to catch you__  
__Put you on your feet, you on your feet__  
__And if your well is empty__  
__Not a thing will prevent me__  
__Tell me what you need"__  
_

As soon as Haley walked through the door, you could tell that she was drained: physically, emotionally, and barely slept the last couple of days. Luke was working on his laptop and I was zoning out watching TV. I was the first one to notice her. I nudged Luke with my foot, not wanting to draw anymore attention to her. She looked like a ghost. I gave Lucas a look and he knew exactly what it meant, what a guy.

"Hi Hales, how's Nathan?"

"Good."

"Ok, well I'm gonna be going to bed. Night Haley, Cherry."

"Goodnight Broody." I gave him a loving kiss on the lips. I could not be more grateful for everything he's done for me the past couple of days. Once he was out of the room, I knew it was time to talk to Haley. "There's pizza in the fridge, I'll grab you some if you want."

"Sure."

"So Nathan's handling the pain better?" I didn't know how to approach the subject.

"Eh, so-so. There's times when its bad and the pain is written all over his face. And there's other times when he's back to his normal self."

"That's good I guess.." like ripping a band aid off. "I talked to Lucas. We'll take the girls. Just let me know when and for how long you want us to have them."

"Oh thank you." Haley burst into tears. She had so much on her plate and this was a temporary fix.

"Hey…shush….it's ok. We wanted to help anyway we can." I got up from my side of the table and embraced her in a hug.

"You guys have already done so much for us." Haley said through sniffles.

"Its ok. Its my job to be your backbone when Nathan can't."

"We'll pay you guys for everything…or something else, whatever you want."

"Stop, don't worry about it. We like spending time with the girls. And it'll give you and the boy some alone time too." I nudged Haley with my shoulder…trying to entice a laugh. I got a small one, a tiny moment of relief for her.

"Thanks for that and everything else."

"Anytime. You guys are family. I'd do anything for family. Luke's flying home tomorrow. You want me to stay down here a few more days?"

"Maybe leave Monday, if that's ok?"

"Of course, whatever's easier for you. Traffic's gonna be crazy tomorrow anyway cause of the long weekend and I'd rather miss all of that."

"Why is he leaving? Did you guys get into some fight? You did look upset when you came back in the room this afternoon."

"No. That was after he got a phone call from his captain in the army…"

"NO!"

"Yes…after the wedding, for two months. That's all he can tell me. So he needs to leave here and get back to his job and not take anymore time off."

"How you holding up? At least it's after the wedding."

"I don't think it has fully hit me yet." We continued gossiping and catching up a little bit, forgetting everything else around us.

* * *

"Hey there." I didn't even pick my head up; I knew Nathan stirred and just woke up.

"Hi. Where's Hales?"

"She took Bella home to pack everything."

'Oh, so you guys are leaving when she gets back?"

'Ya, she wanted me to stay with you while she was gone so you wouldn't be alone. They should be back soon I think."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Asking you to take the girls. And Haley may have let it slip about you wanting me to do something for the wedding. With all of this going on, I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it."

"It's ok." I wiped a stray tear off my face. With my parents passing a little over a year ago, I was going to ask Nathan about possibly walking me down the aisle. I know I shouldn't be mad at him for not being able to do that now, but I can't help but feel alone with no family sometimes. "I can't believe Haley did that. I wanted to be the one to ask you and talk about it with you." I plastered a fake smile on my face.

"If it makes you feel better, I practically had to drag it out of her."

"Ok, I guess I can forgive her then."

"Daddy, you're awake!" Bella burst through the door, screaming.

"Easy." Both Haley and I warned her.

"There's my girl." Nathan embraced her in the best hug he could give at the time. "You ready to go by Aunt Brooke and Uncle Lucas's?"

"Yes, its gonna be so much fun and like a big sleep over."

"You be a good girl and watch over your sister, you hear me?"

"I'm always a good girl."

"You guys have nothing to worry about. They're always angels for both us of. Alright Bells, give Daddy one last big hug and kiss."

"Bye Daddy, I love you."

"I love you too bud. I'll see you soon." Nathan planted a quick kiss on her head and I could have sworn I saw a few tears coming down his face.

"I'll walk them out and be right back." Haley said and you could tell that she was ready to burst into tears. Once both girls were in their car seats, Haley turned and faced me. "Alright Skylar's bottles are in the front seat. Bella should probably conk out and Sky will just be content with staring. I packed everything I could possibly need, if not here's some money…"

"Hales stop." I had to cut her off. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. And put that money away. We'll call every night before bed and the time will fly by."

"I guess."

"Its ok, don't' worry about them. Just focus on getting Nathan better."

"Mhm." And then the tears started. "I'm gonnna miss them so much. We've never been apart for this long."

"I know." I embraced her in a hug, trying to calm her down. "But their gonna be with me, not some stranger. Or his mom." Haley laughed, which is why I said it. "You guys trust me. You're my best friend, its my duty to do this and help you guys out. We'll all be fine. You have to be strong for Nathan, you need to put on a brave face for him cause he's scared too."

"Ok."

"I'll text you when I get home." I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before I hoped in the car. We weren't even five minutes out of the hospital parking lot before Bella started to cry.

"Bells, what's the matter?" I asked looking back through the review mirror.

"I thought Mommy was coming with us."

"No, she's gotta stay and help Daddy get better."

"Oh."

"But hey, you get to come stay with me and Uncle Lucas like we talked about. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"I guess." I looked back again and she stared out the window, looking at the world as it was going by; the same thing her mother used to do when she was upset.


End file.
